The Inbetweeners USA, review

Mark Hughes finds the US television remake of British comedy The
Inbetweeners to be a bit like watching the Wonder Years.

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The Inbetweeners USA: MTV's remake of the British sitcom.Photo: MTV

By Mark Hughes in New York

8:33AM BST 21 Aug 2012

The US doesn’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to remaking popular British shows.

Skins was axed after one season, The IT Crowd didn’t even make it past the pilot, and while The Office is about to begin its ninth season, opinion is split over whether it even comes close to the comic genius that is the British version.

When it was announced that The Inbetweeners was to undergo a US remake, fans of the UK show understandably groaned as the expectation was it would be sullied beyond recognition.

Fears that it would fail to live up to the standards set by its British forerunner were heightened last month when a pilot was aired and promptly panned by Brits and Americans alike.

But that was just a two minute pilot. “Don’t pre-judge it,” the British co-creator Iain Morris urged.

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However after watching three episodes of the US version on MTV, I’m not sure I can reassure anyone that The Inbetweeners isn’t as bad as feared. The early shows barely raised a smile, let alone reached the comedic heights achieved by the Channel 4 version.

Because of the show’s huge popularity in the UK, the last thing I’d imagine the creators want is a direct comparison with the British version.

But given that the initial episodes follow, almost scene for scene and sometimes word for word, the British script, it is impossible not to compare.

There are even nods to the British-roots of the show. At one point Jay puts on a cringe worthy British accent while another scene shows a Union Flag hanging above his bed.

The set-up is identical. Four boys, Will, Simon, Jay and Neil, are unpopular high school students desperately coming up with plans to meet and impress girls. So far, so comparable.

But the first problem comes with the dynamic of the four. Part of the charm and amusement of the British version was the lack of loyalty shown by the four towards one another. Each would at any point turn on the other if the opportunity to mock presented itself.

The US version feels more like an episode of the Wonder Years at times as genuine themes of friendship and bonding are referenced far more explicitly and frequently than was ever the case in the British show.

Take this from the US Will: “I’ve got three friends who seem to accept me…I was not alone I had these guys, which was not much, but they were friends; partners on the turbulent road to adulthood.”

At another point Jay complains, with what I think were supposed to be genuine hurt feelings: “I just feel left out sometimes”.

And then there is the gratuitous scene in which the four have a friendly water fight, complete with close-up slow-motion shots, fixed smiles and background music.

The characters fit into the moulds created by their UK namesakes. Will is the new boy at school desperately trying to fit in. Simon is tormented over his unrequited love for Carly.

Jay is still regaling his friends with tall tales of sexual misadventure, although while the UK version did this in a way which allowed the viewer and his friends to laugh at his self-delusion, the US Jay is more cock-sure and annoying.

But it is Neil who has undergone the most frustrating change. While the UK Neil was amusingly slow-witted, the US version turns him into such an airhead that his inclusion is almost unnecessary, so lacking is his contribution to any scene.

The swearing too has been toned down in the US version, presumably due to the sensitivity of the American audience.

The only potential positive is that the early episodes of the show suggest that it may be able to pull away from direct comparisons with the UK version and create its own identity, much like the US Office.

A reasonably amusing scene in which Will mistakenly alters his Facebook page and goes on to alienate the female half of the school proves that the writers are not totally reliant on the UK scripts.

But the sooner it does this, the better, because simply using the current US cast to remake the existing British episodes is always going to leave MTV’s version coming up short.